Ex-Man Utd defender made feelings on Messi clear before turning down Inter Miami
Ex-Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo hailed Lionel Messi as an inspiration, but still turned down the chance to join up with his Argentina team-mate with Inter Miami.
The 33-year-old spent seven years at Old Trafford where he made over 100 appearances and captured the FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield and Europa League. Since 2021 he has been playing for Boca Juniors in his native Argentina. The left-back spent eight years playing for the national team alongside Messi, and he enjoyed arguably his finest moment at the 2018 World Cup. In their final group game, Argentina needed a win against Nigeria to ensure they would progress to the knockout stages.
Messi scored his only goal of the tournament to put his team ahead, but they were pegged back when Victor Moses equalised for Nigeria early in the second half. While hope appeared to be slipping away, four minutes from time Rojo popped up in the box and superbly volleyed the ball home, to give Argentina a 2-1 victory and guarantee a spot in the last 16.
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Messi delivered an inspirational half-time team talk that inspired his teammates and following the match Rojo revealed exactly what the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said. "Messi came up to us and told us to calm down and not be stressed," the ex-Premier League defender said post-match. "We felt nervous and that message helped us a lot and gave me personally a huge confidence boost.
"Messi is our captain and he's the best captain in the world, it was amazing to score that goal. Messi told everyone that it was either life or death. It could've gone badly. We could've conceded but Leo was stubborn. He told me to run forward. Even [Javier] Mascherano. He told everyone to attack no matter what. He truly read the game and risks. He's a leader. The best."
Rojo had the chance to play with Messi again but rejected the chance to move to Inter Miami, despite a call from the World Cup winner and club boss Tata Martino urging him to join. Rojo reportedly sent Boca Juniors manager Juan Roman Riquelme a WhatsApp message simply stating: "I'm staying here."
He is under contract with Boca until December 2025 and intends to see out his deal, having also rejected an approach from Brazilian club Palmeiras. Ahead of what is an important MLS season for Miami as they took to climb up the Eastern Conference, Martino expressed a desire to have a squad full of players with plenty of tenacity, hence why they were after Rojo, and ultimately went on to sign Luis Suarez.
Messi reportedly called Rojo and urged his former international teammate to join Inter Miami but his efforts were in vain (AFP via Getty Images)"I think the strength of the team is the desire to compete," he said last year. "We are competing very well through many different competitions. We set objectives and we try to achieve them and there is a conviction that we can compete and achieve them no matter what."
But had Rojo signed for Miami the club may have had to contend with his fiery side, which sometimes gets him into trouble. In 2023 he kicked Nicolas De La Cruz in the head and once allegedly threw a fire extinguisher in a heated argument in the tunnel. However, this is something the player is working on. "[It] helps me a lot, I am always in contact," he told to TyC Sports in 2022.
"I started because of the injuries, I felt I was doing all I could with the doctors, I followed the recovery stages and when I got back on the field I got injured again. I couldn't figure it out. Since I started working with [the psychologist] the injuries have been less frequent and I felt good again on the pitch. He told me to trust in myself and in my body again."
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